Toothache

True, the HM stats listed here aren't absolute. The strongest cat listed there has 23 atk and 14 AS, but that can be lower or higher of course. Still, if those are the average than it's likely Sothe will survive a single cat. Obviously, damage mitigation still needs to be employed for anything more (shoves/drops etc).

Did you even look at the HM stats? Base Sothe has 20 HP/4 Def, and 11 speed. Even the strongest Cat fails to OHKO him, and none of the enemies double. Just keep him away from the Tigers. And don't forget Sothe has had some time to grow, probably unlikely to be more than a level or two ahead of base with Blossom but you never know.

The point is, Aeine is operating under a faulty premise. There's plenty of experience to go around, Titania may get less exp than unpromoted units in the early game, but she contributes throughout the entire game and isn't so much of an exp hog. It's hardly a waste to use her at all, especially when she can be used in the first 10 chapters or so for LTC, she's still a solid combat unit through the game. In many ways Titania can help with units gaining CEXP, as she uses her superior move to head bosswards, the other units can hang back and feed themselves exp there, catching up and making BEXP spending more efficient. Yes, BEXP and CEXP are finite resources, as with any other resource in the game, but using Titania isn't a waste by any stretch.

Remove the Move drop to Shamans/Druids, and up the Swordy/Zerker crit boost to 15%, to make them in line with the other GBA games. Otherwise, I like the look of a lot of the changes you made here.

BEXP doesn't work in a vacuum, and this is the main fault of the premise Aiene seems to be working under, from what I can see. BEXP needs to work with the CEXP you gain for each unit, and perhaps in the case of Random Mode, whether blessed growths have occurred (a unit obviously doesn't need much BEXP if they've reached certain stat thresholds earlier than Fixed Mode/averages, for example), or even bad growths where more BEXP may be needed to compensate. In order to get a complete picture of the effects of BEXP in a playthrough, you need to publish more detailed information than just the amount used at every chapter. Characters stats, levels, the amount of enemies they actually faced even, all complement the data and provide a wider and clearer picture either way.

Thieves are kind of less useful in themselves now that it's possible to manipulate non-thieves to pick up desert items

This makes it actually easier to get the Funds rank in this chapter. The Vulnerary only counts for 300 g, where as a full use Iron Sword is 460 g. Given the map target is 80% of 300 g, or 240 g, it makes it somewhat easier to get the funds rank. Of course, there'll be a few uses given that Glass still gets to attack, but the requirements will be a little less steep

On the subject of Mammoth Hydra, it may appear to do more damage on the surface, but it is less damaging overall. Venom Hydra creates pools of poison in its wake. which last a fair while, which combined with Blizzard adds up to more damage over time.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#alQRSO!Xda!cZYbZY So, I've been experimenting with a new build. Since I'm not able to tank anything in Act 2, I figure it's better to go for more damage output. Force Armor gives me better survivability, since I'm less dependant on the resist buff of Prismatic Armor (and everything kills you in a few hits anyway, so better to mitigate what you can). Seeker Magic Missiles seems to be a better choice than Electrocute, simply because they both hit harder and don't need to be aimed, as well as being a faster cast on the run. Things are a lot more hairy, but I'm able to make progress now in Act 2. Teleport is great for escaping all sorts of hazards, and if used right I can kite enemies right into the path of the Blizzard/Hydra, as well as allowing for an escape with Illusionist. Having Fracture allows me to get a few parting Magic Missile shots safely.

I'm at a comfortable level now for Act 1 Inferno. I've taken to doing runs of The Warden and The Butcher, with NV L5 of course. Both are guaranteed to drop at least 2 rares at 5 stack Nephalem Valor, which has netted me some pretty stuff to sell on the AH. Cash is rolling in now, and I can appreciate the relative value of things on the AH a lot easier now. I'm not one to do a lot of flipping (that's buying stuff just to sell at a profit), but I can make a modest gold income with what I farm in Inferno. I think I'll push my resists to about 800 (they're at 600 now) before I try tackling Act 2, the jump is pretty steep.

I guess even though the skill selection is somewhat limited at high levels, there's still a good variety of builds that works. My main issue was having a lot less resists than was needed for Hell, you really need to buff those. I have 350 minimum now, and that's a fairly comfortable level of resists, I don't need to kite so much. Finished Hell Diablo last night, and now I have NV access I've started running him. I've found a few things worth selling on the AH, but mostly I'm trying to rake in enough cash to reach Hell Whimsy.

Learning to kite correctly is a skill in itself, but it also requires the right sort of skills. You can't just use anything past a certain point in the difficulty, you have to manage a balance between defence and offensive skills. Note my Wizard build earlier, I have 3 offensive skills (Electrocute, Hydra, Blizzard) and three defensive skills (Diamond Skin, Mirror Image, Energy Armor). You may need more, or less, depending on the gear you've managed to accumulate. Speaking of gear, definitely from the start of Hell you should be pumping Resists, more so than Vitality. The game really becomes more and more dependant on having the right gear, and I found myself having a much easier time after I visited the AH for some All Resist gear. Currently sitting on Act 4 Hell, and I'm starting to hit that wall again where I need to upgrade my gear again. I have about 240 minimum resists, think I need to push for about 300-350 by the end of Hell. After that, I'll start farming in Whimsyshire until I can afford real endgame gear.

You think you have problems with the wizard at low levels, try it through Hell. Currently in Act 2 Hell, around 19k life, 7.3k dmg, and I'm struggling to solo through the game. Guess I need to start raiding the AH for more bargains. Incidentally, my skill selection looks like this atm. Might need a bit more tweaking once I unlock the last few rune levels, but otherwise it's served me fine so far.

Easiest thing to do in order to get good gear is to raid the AH for bargains. Buying up items with at least a high bonus in your primary stat, and +Vit to boot, at the very least. Anything else is a bonus.

So, I've been playing this almost exclusively since it came out, and it's been pretty fun. Skill system works pretty well I find. Started off with a Barbarian, since that was my favourite D2 class, and it worked fine for me all the way to the end of Normal. Just switched to the Wizard for something different, seems pretty solid so far. You'll likely find me playing on EU server, BT is Toothache42#1944. Would be cool to see more SF peeps around.

Martial Artist: Base Stats/Growths/Caps Male HP 22/70%/60 Str 6/40%/20 Skl 4/55%/20 Spd 7/40%/20 Luk 4/30%/30 Def 2/20%/20 Res 4/40%/20 Female HP 20/65%/60 Str 5/30%/20 Skl 5/60%/20 Spd 8/40%/20 Luk 5/30%/30 Def 2/20%/20 Res 5/45%/20 Base Weapon: Strike D Strike works like laguz natural attacks, and have a fixed hit rate of 80% D - base dmg 4 C - base dmg 6 B - base dmg 8 A - base dmg 10 S - base dmg 12 Martial artists therefore get powerful and accurate melee attacks, but are limited to 1-range combat, and experience no weapon triangle. Promotion is where things become interesting. The idea behind this is that there could be competing factions or organisations of martial artists, each with their own unique style, that have learned to harness power similar to that of the magic classes into a form of close combat fighting. Promotion Branches: Fists of Light: Gains: +4/+2/+2/+2/+0/+1/+3 Strike converts to Light Fist, gains +50 wexp, treated as Light physical damage and works on the magic triangle accordingly (WTA to Darkness Fist and Dark magic users, WTD to Element Fist and Anima magic users) Caps: HP 60 Str 24 Skl 28 Spd 26 Luk 30 Def 22 Res 28 Fists of the Elements Gains: +4/+3/+1/+2+/+0/+1/+3 Strike converts to Element Fist, gains +50 wexp, treated as Anima physical damage and works on the magic triangle accordingly (WTA to Light Fist and Light Magic users, WTD to Darkness Fist and Dark magic users) Caps: HP 60 Str 26 Skl 26 Spd 27 Luk 30 Def 21 Res 28 Fists of Darkness Gains: +4/+4/+0/+2/+0/+2/+3 Strike converts to Darkness Fist, gains +50 wexp, treated as Dark physical damage and works on the magic triangle accordingly (WTA to Element Fist and Anima magic users, WTD to Light Fist and Light magic users) Caps: HP 60 Str 28 Skl 23 Spd 24 Luk 30 Def 23 Res 27

Tedium != Difficulty. A common problem with these sorts of ideas for challenges.

Sword of Seals. How come no-one has mentioned this? 18 mt, 1-2 range, allows for self healing, and +5 def/res, not to mention effective against the most common endgame enemies. Oh, and no weight penalty

Chapter 19: 7/163 turns Had to do a lot of working with the Killer Lances to have a shot at clearing this map quickly. Terrain once again was a problem, but I was able to work around it thanks to dodgebot Lalum keeping my paladins well ahead. Roy enjoyed another high risk/high reward drop which prevented my paladins from being blocked to the throne. Collected Energy Ring too. Unit Exp HP Str Skl Spd Luk Def Res Weapon Ranks Supports Roy 14.45 29 12 13 13 14 9 2 C Sword C Alan Marcus --/12.43 39 14 17 14 13 10 9 S Lance D Sword B Axe Alan 12/15.48 47 22 19 23 12 13 5 S Lance B Sword C Axe C Roy Ellen 10/ 2.47 21 12 12 13 13 3 12 B Staff D Light Dorothy 15/ 5.88 35 17 18 17 12 8 8 S Bow Zealot --/ 8.63 40 13 14 15 8 15 8 S Lance C Sword C Axe Noah 20/ 6.55 44 16 20 18 19 16 5 A Lance A Sword E Axe Oujay 10/ 4.10 36 14 14 17 11 8 4 B Sword E Axe Lalum 9.92 21 1 2 17 15 4 5 Dancer C Echidna Echidna --/ 6.43 37 16 22 20 6 8 8 C Sword A Axe C Lalum Sophia 13.16 21 15 7 10 4 3 16 C Dark Fa 4.59 21 4 4 6 11 3 8 Dragonstone

Chapter 18: 7/156 turns I decided I wasn't happy with the 8 turn, so I redid this chapter and saved a turn. Alan was in a far more risky position near the throne, but I managed to pull it off with the timely trade of a vulnerary. Goddess Icon wasn't able to be reached, but I can live without it. There were a lot more crits this time with the Killer Lances, and Noah got one on the boss too. Unit Exp HP Str Skl Spd Luk Def Res Weapon Ranks Supports Roy 13.92 28 12 13 13 13 9 2 C Sword C Alan Marcus --/12.09 39 14 17 14 13 10 9 S Lance D Sword B Axe Alan 12/14.76 46 21 18 23 11 13 4 S Lance B Sword C Axe C Roy Ellen 10/ 2.09 21 12 12 13 13 3 12 B Staff D Light Dorothy 15/ 5.57 35 17 18 17 12 8 8 A Bow Zealot --/ 7.91 40 12 13 14 7 14 8 S Lance C Sword C Axe Noah 20/ 4.71 43 16 19 16 18 16 5 B Lance A Sword E Axe Oujay 10/ 4.10 36 14 14 17 11 8 4 B Sword E Axe Lalum 8.97 21 1 2 16 15 3 5 Dancer C Echidna Echidna --/ 5.75 37 16 21 19 6 8 8 C Sword A Axe C Lalum Sophia 12.98 20 14 7 9 4 3 15 C Dark Fa 3.59 19 3 4 5 10 2 7 Dragonstone

Chapter 17: 5/149 turns I took a page from FE4's book, and used the arena for RNG manipulation. Fa did some shopping, and I almost made all the money back I'd spent by the end. I have the paladins and Lalum head to the throne with Roy, with a little Physic support from Ellen. I have my other foot units hang back, and frequent the arena with my female foot fighters. Unit Exp HP Str Skl Spd Luk Def Res Weapon Ranks Supports Roy 13.18 28 12 13 13 13 9 2 C Sword C Alan Marcus --/11.73 38 14 16 13 12 10 9 S Lance D Sword B Axe Alan 12/14.35 46 21 18 23 11 13 4 S Lance B Sword D Axe C Roy Ellen 10/ 1.71 21 11 12 13 13 3 12 B Staff D Light Dorothy 15/ 5.41 35 17 18 17 12 8 8 A Bow Zealot --/ 7.58 40 12 13 14 7 14 8 S Lance C Sword C Axe Noah 20/ 3.74 42 15 18 15 17 15 4 B Lance A Sword E Axe Oujay 10/ 3.95 35 14 13 16 10 8 3 B Sword E Axe Lalum 8.23 21 1 2 16 15 3 5 Dancer Echidna --/ 5.54 37 16 21 19 6 8 8 C Sword A Axe Sophia 12.55 20 14 7 9 4 3 15 C Dark Fa 3.59 19 3 4 5 10 2 7 Dragonstone

Integrity has ruled that the gate is allowed to be opened by undrafted units. Still not convinced this is entirely necessary, but I'll defer to this.

I don't see why you chose to use Lance in the first place. He's undrafted, and Marcus can open it himself on turn 1. Besides, you don't have to restart again. Just take the penalty and move on.

Don't forget the penalty for this.